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About

Barefoot Acupuncture Peterborough is currently a private practice, operated by me, Marianne Pedretti.

I’ve been interested in holistic medicine for much of my life and began studying Chinese medicine formally in the spring of 2012. I graduated in July 2014 from Eight Branches Academy of Eastern Medicine from the 3 year Acupuncture and Moxibustion Diploma Program. It’s an excellent school with a dedicated group of teachers and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to study eastern healing arts.

Chinese traditional herbology (am not a certified herbalist but have studied on a basic level; Chinese herbal therapy is extraordinarily sophisticated with thousands of herbal formulas).

Acupuncture is the method of treatment that first drew me to this medicine as I had experienced its’ healing effects after a lingering shoulder injury. I went from quite a bit of pain to no pain after the first treatment and knew that I wanted to learn this therapy.

I have a background in science; specifically environmental sciences and restoration ecology and so my mind gravitated towards a medicine that was systematic and based upon theory and evidence. Traditional Chinese medicine has a long track record, having been practiced since ancient times and it is a life’s work, exploring its’ intricacies. Its’ basis of understanding or foundation, is rooted in yin yang theory, originating in taoist philosophy. Thus, the body is viewed very differently compared to modern western medicine and so, for example, mental and emotional health are not seen as separate from physical health.

I have been practicing meditation in Peterborough, beginning with The Buddhist Place in 2003, and have experienced the effects of mindfulness and know how it can transform our daily lives. The Buddhist Place has weekly meditation sittings and offers much to those looking for a dharma community. (see links for the webpage)

I also have learned much from doing yoga and feel that my yoga and meditation practices are both forms of preventative medicine in that they help to keep me well and restore harmony in the mindbodyspirit. (see links)

I’ve had the good fortune to find a wonderful teacher of the internal arts of tai qi and qi gong. Sifu Greg Magwood offers weekly classes that promote a deep understanding of these arts. (see links)

In my clinical practice, I believe in empowering people to develop their own practices to keep body/mind/spirit well. Acupuncture is an excellent tool but there is much that people can do themselves so I like to share information and resources so that clients feel able to manage on their own. I especially value developing our self-knowledge and inner authority and so my approach to helping others, lies in the recognition that the body knows how to heal itself and that we only need to learn to listen: everything is inside us that we need to heal.

As a practitioner, I’m happy to serve as a collaborator in your health journey. This type of ‘outside support’ can be really useful to catalyze a healing reaction and can benefit and alleviate many health problems. I am continually impressed by the depth and scope of issues that acupuncture can resolve.

I am a member in good standing with the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario. (CTCMPAO)